Rabbi Bill Berk, Rabbi emeritus Temple Chai

Rabbi Berk served for twenty-three years as the Senior Rabbi of Temple Chai in Phoenix, Arizona. 

 The Simchat Torah Massacre

     In September 2005 Israel pulled out of Gaza with the hope that the Palestinians there would build a healthy prosperous country.  Two years later Hamas took over Gaza and began focusing not on building a good country but on destroying Israel.  We found out, to our shock and horror, that Hamas had zero interest in peace and was viciously opposed to pluralism.  Since then Hamas has made it clear that Israel will never be welcomed in the MIddle East.  They believe in creating an Islamic Empire–no Jews and no Israel.  Most of the modern world is making peace with the idea of pluralism–but not Hamas.

     Now it is one thing to be opposed to pluralism.  It is quite another thing to commit the atrocities they have unleashed with this war which began on October 7th.  These atrocities have crossed a red line that changes how we look at our situation.  We now look at it like this–we have no choice.  If we don’t stop Hamas they will kill us. Many others around the world, including many in the U.S.,  look at the situation differently and either equate the two sides or simply support Hamas.   Part of our enormous stress right now is exactly this issue–especially the way the world got tired of Israel’s suffering after two days of empathy.  For us a line has been  crossed.

     The joyous laughter of Hamas fighters as they murdered parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents–crossed a line.  The kidnapping of little children and babies and elders–crossed a line.  Raping teenage girls before killing them–crossed a line.  Chopping babies heads off and burning babies alive–it’s too much, it crossed a line.  Shooting rockets at us–12 shot at us in the last few minutes (October 31)–crosses a line. So the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is going to do what it needs to do whether students at Harvard like it or not.  (News reports as of the end of October tell us  that many Harvard students are demonstrating on behalf of Hamas.)  Jewish suffering is no longer making headlines.  

     Here’s a secret about Israeli society.  If there had been ten people murdered and four people kidnapped we would be as horrified and stressed out as we are with 1400 murdered and 245 kidnapped.  Why?  Two reasons: 1) We take seriously that every human is created b’tzelem, in God’s image, which to us means that every single person has infinite worth.  2)  Israel is one big family.  We are a gregarious group of people who love life.  We feel connected to each other.  So the numbers don’t matter–each and every person is a world, precious beyond words.

     Speaking of numbers–if we took what is happening here in Israel and Gaza  and on a per capita basis extrapolate what the numbers would be in the U.S.–it would look like this: on one day (9/11) 90,000 people murdered and  7,000 kidnapped–you get an idea of the extent of the tragedy on October 7, 2023. 

     We feel terrible for the people trapped in Gaza, held captive by Hamas.  We pray for their liberation from Hamas.  For those whose sympathies lie more in the direction of Hamas please keep  in mind that sometimes in order to stop evil from spreading it is necessary to hurt innocent civilians.  In Germany five million civilians were killed by the Allies desperate to stop Hitler.  They didn’t want to hurt these people–but that is war. 

     One last word–in the Bible the word hamas means  wild, destructive, violent behavior.